Health & Benefits

What can you do if a nursing home violates your rights or contract?

If you believe that a nursing home has violated your rights or the terms of your contract, you may take the following actions, which are each described below in more detail. You do not have to do them in order. You may take more than one action on the same issue:

• File a grievance,
• File a complaint with the Illinois Department on Aging's Long-Term Care Ombudsman,
• File a complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health, or
• File a private lawsuit.

File a grievance

A resident may file a grievance or complaint to the:

• Nursing home administrator,
• Nursing home’s residents' advisory council, or
• Illinois Long-Term Care Facility Advisory Board.

The facility may not retaliate against you or threaten you for filing a complaint. The facility also cannot restrain you from filing your complaint, interfere with your complaint, or coerce you into not filing a complaint. The residents' advisory council may also present complaints on behalf of a resident. It can present them to the Illinois Department of Public Health or to any other person it thinks is appropriate.

File a complaint with the long-term care ombudsman

The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is operated by the Illinois Department on Aging. Ombudsmen are advocates for nursing home residents. They provide information to residents regarding rights, options, supports, and available services. They have a duty to investigate and resolve complaints. This is to improve their client’s quality of life and quality of care.

They work with nursing homes to resolve the residents’ problems. They also provide residents with alternatives if the matter is not resolved. Regardless of who made the complaint, the ombudsman is required to follow the resident’s wishes. You can find contact information for the ombudsman who works in your county by:

• Visiting the Illinois Department on Aging's website,
• Calling the Illinois Department on Aging, Senior Helpline at (800) 252-8966, or
• Writing to the Illinois Department on Aging at One Natural Resources Way, Suite 100, Springfield, IL 62702-1271.

File a complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health

Anyone may file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). They can file if they believe that a nursing home is abusing, neglecting, or exploiting a resident or is otherwise violating the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act.

There are many different ways to file a complaint, including by using an available online portal. Complaints may also be submitted to IDPH by phone, mail, email, or fax. If you are calling in the report, have the following facts ready:

• Who is the resident? Who are the employees involved?
• What happened to the resident?
• When did this incident occur? Include the date, time, and how often the incident occurred.
• Where is the facility located (name and city)? Where in the facility did the incident occur (room number, unit, or department)?
• How was the patient harmed? How could the patient have been potentially harmed?
• How was the complaint addressed by the facility?
• Witnesses, if any, to the incident (including their name and title, such as mother, friend, or nurse).  

To file a complaint by phone, contact the IDPH Central Complaint Registry Hotline. Their number is (800) 252-4343 or TTY for people with hearing impairments at (800) 547-0466. They are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

If you are filing a complaint by mail, fax, or email, you should access and use the IDPH's Health Care Facility Complaint Form.

Mail or fax the completed complaint form to:
Illinois Department of Public Health
Office of Health Care Regulation, Attn: Central Complaint Registry
525 W. Jefferson St., Ground Floor
Springfield, IL 62761-0001
Fax: (217) 524-8885

To file a complaint by e-mail, send your completed complaint form to [email protected]. 

Illinois Department of Public Health investigation

After receiving your complaint, IDPH will conduct an investigation. Complaints are logged and investigated on a priority basis, depending on the nature, scope, and severity of the complaint. The investigation may be completed within a few days or it could take up to several months.

IDPH must investigate abuse and neglect complaints alleging that a resident's life or safety is in danger within 24 hours after receipt. All other abuse and neglect investigations must be completed within 7 days. Investigations concerning non-abuse and neglect allegations are to be completed within 30 days. If the investigation finds that the facility is in violation of the Nursing Home Care Act, IDPH will send a notice of the violation to the facility.

IDPH will not require you to give your name when you file a complaint. But if you do not give your name, IDPH will be unable to notify you of the outcome of their investigation. IDPH will not reveal your identity without your permission. If IDPH determines that disclosure of your identity is essential to the investigation or a judicial proceeding, you will be given the opportunity to withdraw the complaint.

The facility cannot retaliate against you because you make a complaint. They cannot retaliate against you because you provide information in connection with an IDPH investigation.

After completing the investigation, IDPH will notify you and the facility of the results. If IDPH decides that the facility has violated the Nursing Home Care Act, it can impose fines and other penalties on the facility. In extreme cases, it can revoke the facility's license.

You can appeal the determination

If IDPH determines that the facility did not violate the Nursing Home Act, you can file an appeal. You must make the appeal in writing. It must be filed with IDPH within 30 days of the notice of the investigation findings.

IDPH will hold a hearing to find out whether the investigation was conducted appropriately and adequately. To have the investigation results changed, you will have to prove that the investigation was inadequate or that it resulted in an incorrect determination. You are entitled to appear and testify at the hearing. You can have an attorney represent you. The hearing officer can require other people to appear and testify or provide evidence. The facility will have the right to attend the hearing, too, along with its attorney. Following the hearing, the Director of IDPH will send you a written decision.

If the IDPH hearing officer rules against you, you are entitled to file a petition for review of the decision by a judge. You can file the petition in the circuit court of the county where you reside. You must file it within 15 days of the IDPH written decision. A judge will decide whether the hearing officer properly considered the facts and applied the law. The judge can uphold or reverse IDPH’s decision. The judge can also send the case back to IDPH to provide more information or take an action.

File a private lawsuit

You can file a lawsuit against a nursing home if its agents or employees violate your rights or if they injure you. It doesn't matter whether it was done negligently or intentionally. You can also bring an action if they violate the terms of your contract.

If you file a lawsuit and the judge or jury decides that the facility violated your rights, the judge can require the nursing home to pay you compensation for your actual damages. They also must pay your court costs and attorney's fees. The judge also can enter an injunction. This is a court order requiring the nursing home to stop doing something such as violating your rights.

When the state determines your eligibility for medical assistance (Medicaid), the amount of damages recovered from a private lawsuit against a nursing home are exempt from consideration. They are not to be used toward the payment of medical care or services received under Medicaid.

The facility cannot transfer, discharge, evict, harass, dismiss, or retaliate against you for filing a lawsuit. They also cannot do so for providing testimony in connection with a lawsuit filed by someone else.

More legal resources

Resources for seniors

There are local legal assistance providers who provide free legal services to Illinoisans 60 years of age or older. They advocate for and represent older clients in civil cases. Some of the cases they may assist you with include nursing home residents’ rights. Others include conflicts with benefit programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and pensions. To find the program for your county:

• Call the Illinois Department on Aging, Senior Helpline at (800) 252-8966, or
• Visit the Illinois Department on Aging website.

Resources for residents with disabilities

Nursing home residents who are not over the age of 60 and reside in a nursing home because of a disability may request assistance from Equip for Equality. To learn more, visit the Equip for Equality website or contact them at:

Equip for Equality, Inc.
20 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 300
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 341-0022
(800) 537-2632 (Voice)
(800) 610-2779 (TTY)